Please read and understand the below mentioned rules & guidelines carefully. To submit your film(s) in the International Films section of CIFF, it is mandatory for you to agree & comply with these rules & guidelines.

General:

The film(s) submitted should showcase culturally varied content that is both entertaining and educative for the children of varied backgrounds.

The submitter should either own rights to the film(s), or should have obtained all necessary permissions from the rights owner to submit the film(s) to CIFF.

All decisions made by CIFF's Programming Team will be final & binding on all parties.

Entry rules:

Entry to the International Films section is free!

Short-films, Documentaries or Feature-films in live-action, animation, clay-motion or stop-motion can be submitted.

The film(s) can be produced in any country.

You can submit as many film(s) as you want.

All forms, whether online or otherwise, shall be filled in and submitted by the individual authorized to license screening rights of the film(s). CIFF shall not accept any forms from any other person.

Theme rules:

CIFF is an open theme festival. However, based on requests from our Sponsors & Partners, specific theme(s) may be announced from time-to-time. Please check the Awards section of this website for specific information on themes.

For avoidance of any doubt, please read, understand and comply with the "Content guidelines" (see below) to avoid disqualification under any theme.

Language rules:

The film(s) can be in any language.

If the film(s) are in a language other than English, English subtitles are a must.

It is preferred that your film(s) have Arabic subtitles, but are not mandatory.

Film length rules:

Running time of Short-film(s), including titles & credits, should not be more than 30 minutes. Short-film(s) that run for more than 30 minutes will be summarily disqualified.

Running time of Documentaries, including titles & credits, should not be more than 30 minutes. Documentary(ies) that run for more than 30 minutes will be summarily disqualified.

Minimum running time of any short-film or documentary shall not be less than 1 minute; including Titles and Credits.

Running time of Feature-film(s), including titles & credits, should not be less than 60 minutes. Feature-film(s) that run for less than 60 minutes will be summarily disqualified.

Competition rules:

All film(s) shall compete with film(s) in the same category. For avoidance of any doubt, short-film(s) will compete against other short-film(s) and likewise for documentaries and feature-film(s).

Only the films shortlisted by CIFF's Programming Team shall be screened during CIFF.

All shortlisted films will be eligible to win one or more awards.

Decisions made by CIFF's Programming Team and the Jury are final and binding on all parties. Challenges or arguments against or for the decisions will neither be accepted nor encouraged.

Once the film(s) are submitted, it should not be available online or otherwise for public viewing before the festival concludes. For avoidance of any doubt, the submitter(s) can make the trailers available online or otherwise to promote the film.

Submission rules:

Short-films and documentaries should be submitted in Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080p) or better in .mp4 or .mov format.

Plagiarism of any sort is neither encouraged nor accepted by CIFF. If you have used someone else's creative material in your film, please provide consent forms from the other party or present such documents that prove beyond reasonable doubt that you have the rights to use that material, while you are submitting your film.

Content Guidelines:

The content of your film(s) should speak positively to children of diverse backgrounds and cultures. The film(s) should provide strong role models for both boys and girls.

Content of the submitted film(s) should be creative and completely original including the sound/music used and should not infringe on any copyrights or any other rights of any third parties.

Under no circumstances, the content of your film(s) should contain any of the following:

Offensive or foul language

Violence

Religious content

Child abuse

Drug and/or Alcohol usage

Defamatory content

Cruelty to Animals

Politically sensitive topics, material or comment

Sexual innuendos or nudity

Any film containing one or more of these mentioned above will be disqualified.

Each live-action film must include 80% of video footage. Still images/photographs should be limited to less than 20% of the films running time. Only in case of documentaries, third party video footage may be used but this is limited to maximum of 5% of the film's running time.

The content should be culturally sensitive, authentic, timely and of universal appeal.

Terms & conditions of submissions:

By submitting your film(s) to CIFF2017, you agree that,

You have obtained all required permissions including but not limited to the music, sound and or images used in the film(s). By entering the competition you agree that CIFF shall not be held liable for any copyright infringements by you, your organization or by your film(s).

CIFF reserves all the rights to screen or not screen any film(s) for any reason it deems valid. Submitter(s) will be required to sign an undertaking confirming that the film(s) are an original work of the submitter(s); failure to do so may disqualify the entry.

CIFF retains all the rights to screen the film(s) received from you, in part or whole thereof, for publicity and educational purposes in the Middle-east region.

In the event that the submitter is found to be in violation of any condition(s) of the rules & guidelines enshrined herein, CIFF at its sole discretion may choose to cancel and eliminate such film(s) from the selection or the final lineup of CIFF2017 programme.

The submitter acknowledges that CIFF shall not be held liable or responsible in any manner whatsoever for any loss or damage of whatever type or nature incurred as a result of the submission, acceptance and/or screening of the film and/or its related material. Further, the submitter undertakes to indemnify and keep CIFF, The Film Studio FZ LLC, its officers, representatives, affiliates and agents indemnified against all liabilities, claims, demands, actions, costs, damages or loss arising out of the submission, acceptance and/or screening of the film and/or its related material.

Anti-piracy:

CIFF undertakes to take all possible anti-piracy precautions that are practically possible and commercially feasible.

All prints and associated copyrighted materials will be securely stored while on CIFF premises. Access is limited to CIFF's nominated staff only and all movement of prints will be strictly monitored.

No duplication or loaning is permitted and no prints will ever leave the custody and care of CIFF or its authorised agents during CIFF.

Changes:

The rules enshrined herein are subject to change without prior notice.

CIFF shall make all reasonable efforts in informing the submitter(s) of any change, whether minor or major, in these rules, but no guarantees are made or assumed that such intimation(s) will be given.

You are requested to visit this page regularly to identify, read, understand and comply with any change in the rules & guidelines.